The Interior Mountains or Northern Interior Mountains are the semi-official names for an expansive collection of mountain ranges that comprises much of the northern half of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

and a large area of southern

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. There are four main groupings, the Skeena, Cassiar and Omineca Mountains to the north of the

Interior Plateau The Interior Plateau comprises a large region of the Interior of British Columbia, and lies between the Cariboo and Monashee Mountains on the east, and the Hazelton Mountains, Coast Mountains and Cascade Range on the west.''Landforms of British C ...

between the

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains (french: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbi ...

to the west and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

to the east, and the

Hazelton Mountains The Hazelton Mountains are a grouping of mountain ranges on the inland lee of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, spanning the area of Hazelton south to the Nechako Reservoir. Defined by the Britis ...

along the Interior Plateau's northwestern flank against the Coast Mountains, extending from the

Bulkley Ranges The Bulkley Ranges is mountain range in northern British Columbia, Canada, located between the Skeena and Bulkley Rivers south of Hazelton, north of the Morice River and Zymoetz River. It has an area of 7851 km2 and is a subrange of the ...

south to the

Bella Coola River The Bella Coola River is a major river on the Pacific slope of the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia. The town of Bella Coola is at its mouth on North Bentinck Arm. Bella Coola Indian Reserve No. 1 the location of the main community ...

. Included within the Interior Mountains system is the

Stikine Plateau The Stikine Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada. It lies between the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the west and southwest and the Cassiar Mountains along its northeast, and between the Skeena Mountains on its south ...

, which contains a number of sub-plateaus and various mountain ranges and is located west of the Cassiars, north of the Skeenas, and to the east of the

Boundary Ranges The Boundary Ranges, also known in the singular and as the Alaska Boundary Range, are the largest and most northerly subrange of the Coast Mountains. They begin at the Nass River, near the southern end of the Alaska Panhandle in the Canadian pr ...

of the Coast Mountains. Most of the thousands of summits in the Interior Mountains are unnamed, and they are mostly uninhabited and undeveloped.

Etymology

The terms ''Interior Mountains'' and ''Northern Interior Mountains'' were coined by British Columbia government geographer Stuart Holland in the course of writing his ''Landforms of British Columbia'', which is a definitive volume on the province's topography and

toponymy Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

written in 1964. This work is used as the basis for official toponymies such as those in the provincial gazette and the British Columbia Geographic Names Information System Database (BCGNIS), which is the official registry of the province's geographic names. The term Interior Mountains, used by Holland throughout his work and as a chapter heading describing the mountain system in question, is not present in the Geographical Names Database despite being a chapter heading and appearing on Holland's map of the province's landform systems. He suggests, also, the term "Northern Interior Mountains", partly because the mountain system is in a region also known as the Northern Interior, but also to potentially distinguish this mountain system from mountain ranges farther south in the province's Interior, including those of the

. In his exegesis, he decided on "Interior Mountains" for reasons of brevity.

Component ranges and plateaus

Major mountain ranges and plateaus that are considered part of the Interior Mountains are included.

Cassiar Mountains

* Dease Plateau * Kechika Ranges * Sifton Ranges * Stikine Ranges

Hazelton Mountains The Hazelton Mountains are a grouping of mountain ranges on the inland lee of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, spanning the area of Hazelton south to the Nechako Reservoir. Defined by the Britis ...

* Kispiox Range *

Nass Ranges The Nass Ranges are a mountain range north of the Skeena River, west of Hazelton, and northeast of Terrace, British Columbia, Canada. It is associated with the Hazelton Mountains, which in turn form part of the Interior Mountains.

* Pattullo Range * Tahtsa Ranges

Omineca Mountains

* Finlay Ranges * Hogem Ranges * Metsantan Range * Samuel Black Range * Swannell Ranges *

Tatlatui Range The Tatlatui Range is a large and very alpine mountain range on the east flank of the upper Skeena River in northern British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of 2307 km2 and is a subrange of the Omineca Mountains which in turn form part of th ...

Skeena Mountains The Skeena Mountains, also known as the Skeenas, are a subrange of the Interior Mountains of northern British Columbia, Canada, essentially flanking the upper basin of the Skeena River. They lie just inland from the southern end of the Boundary ...

Atna Range The Atna Range is a small subrange of the Skeena Mountains of the Interior Mountains, located in northern British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic ...

* Babine Range * Bait Range * Driftwood Range * Klappan Range * Oweegee Range * Sicintine Range * Slamgeesh Range * Strata Range * Takla Range

Stikine Plateau The Stikine Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada. It lies between the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains on the west and southwest and the Cassiar Mountains along its northeast, and between the Skeena Mountains on its south ...

Kawdy Plateau The Kawdy Plateau is a plateau in northern British Columbia, Canada, located between the Nahlin and Tuya Rivers. It includes the granitic Atsutla Range and Nazcha Hills and the volcanic Kawdy Mountain. See also *List of plateaus in British Co ...

Nahlin Plateau The Nahlin Plateau is a plateau in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located between the Sheslay River and Tuya River on the west and east and the Nahlin River and the Stikine River to the north and south. It is a subplateau of the Stikine Pl ...

Spatsizi Plateau The Spatsizi Plateau is a plateau in the upper basin of the Stikine River in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Most of the plateau, which is a sub-plateau of the Stikine Plateau, is enshrined in either Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincia ...

Tagish Highland The Tagish Highland is an upland area on the inland side of the northernmost Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains, spanning far northwestern British Columbia from Atlin Lake to the area of the pass at Champagne, Yukon between the Alsek and Yuko ...

(NB sometimes defined as part of the

) *

Tahltan Highland The Tahltan Highland is an upland area of plateau and relatively lower mountain ranges in British Columbia, Canada, lying east of the Boundary Ranges and south of the Inklin River (the east fork of the Taku River). Its eastern boundary is formed b ...

(NB sometimes defined as part of the

) *

Taku Plateau The Taku Plateau is a sub-plateau of the Stikine Plateau in the far northwestern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It lies to the south of the Teslin Plateau, part of the Yukon Plateau and to the southeast of the Yukon Plateau's other major s ...

(NB sometimes defined as part of the

Yukon Plateau The Yukon Plateau is a plateau (also defined as a plain) located in the Yukon Territory, comprising much of the central and southern Yukon Territory and the far northern part of British Columbia, Canada between Tagish Lake (W) and the Cassiar Moun ...

) * Tanzilla Plateau

Parks and protected areas

* Boya Lake Provincial Park *

Dall River Old Growth Provincial Park Dall River Old Growth Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and is located immediately northwest of Denetiah Provincial Park, northwest of the junction of the G ...

* Denetiah Provincial Park *

Dune Za Keyih Provincial Park and Protected Area Dune Za Keyih Provincial Park and Protected Area, also known as the Frog-Gataga Provincial Park, is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area and is located in the area of the Gataga Riv ...

Horneline Creek Provincial Park Horneline Creek Provincial Park is a provincial park in far northern British Columbia, Canada. It is located west of the Kechika River about 130 km south of Lower Post and 30 km north of Denetiah Provincial Park and southwest of the ...

* Hyland River Provincial Park * Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park * Mount Edziza Provincial Park and Recreation Area *

Rainbow Alley Provincial Park Rainbow Alley Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the ...

Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, protecting most of the Spatsizi Plateau, the southeasternmost subplateau of the Stikine Plateau, and the upper reaches of the basin of the Stikine River. ...

* Stikine River Provincial Park * Todagin South Slope Provincial Park * Tuya Mountains Provincial Park

Proposed protected areas

Sacred Headwaters The Sacred Headwaters is a large subalpine drainage basin centred around Klappan Mountain of the Klappan Range in northern British Columbia. It is the source of three wild salmon rivers: the Skeena River, Nass River, and Stikine River. It is als ...

References

*S. Holland, ''Landforms of British Columbia'', Province of British Columbia, 1976 {{Interior Mountains Northern Interior of British Columbia Mountain ranges of British Columbia Mountain ranges of Yukon